Historical Moves

Shubert Theatre, Minneapolis MN

In 1999, Stubbs Building Movers in cooperation with Expert House Movers and International Chimney Corporation worked through sub zero temperatures in downtown Minneapolis to move the historic Shubert Theatre. The 90 year old theatre was moved by the City of Minneapolis to make room for a new entertainment complex next to the Target Center. The Shubert Theatre weighed in at 2,908 tons, the most massive building ever moved by dollies, setting a world record!

The Armstrong House

Aside from the normal complexities of moving a building through downtown city streets, design and implementation of the move had to take into account two substantial challenges. The first was that the building had to be moved down a very steep hill. This dictated the design and installation of substantial building reinforcement in the form of steel bracing on the back of the building. Very close control of the braking system was also required while traveling downhill. As a precaution, a secondary braking system was put in place as backup in the event of primary system failure. The second challenge was that the Armstrong House had to be rotated “on a dime” in the middle of a city intersection in order to line it up perfectly to fit between adjacent buildings as it moved forward after the rotation. Both challenges, as well as all other issues, were successfully dealt with.

Frank Gehry House

Joe Hall – St. John’s University

In 1992 we moved Joe Hall at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. The move was featured on the cover of “The House and Building Mover”. The move was very complicated, with a precise 90 degree turn in the middle and a 180 degree turn at the end.